Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera

Identifying and sorting live vaccine-specific B cells from peripheral blood and bone marrow using spectral enhanced flow cytometry 3898 Open

Samantha Townsley, Lauren Smith, Vincent Dussupt, Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera · 2025

Description Detection of vaccine-specific B cells and antibody secreting cells (ASC) are important to inform HIV vaccine strategies. Herein, we describe the development of a flow cytometry-based assay using cell surface mounted Ig-traps an…

Primed B cells continue to undergo affinity maturation in people living with HIV-1 when ART is provided in acute infection 4109 Open

Juhi Arora, Samantha Townsley, Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera, Suchada Sukhumvittaya, Nittaya Phanuphak , et al. · 2025

Description Protective, high affinity antibodies develop via mutagenesis and an iterative selection process in germinal centers called affinity maturation. For highly variable pathogens such as HIV-1, understanding the kinetics of antibody…

First-generation N-terminal domain supersite public antibodies retain activity against Omicron-derived lineages and protect mice against Omicron BA.5 challenge Open

Vincent Dussupt, Jaime L. Jensen, Paul V. Thomas, Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera, Kerri G. Lal , et al. · 2025

Monoclonal antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 can offer prophylactic and therapeutic protection against severe disease, with particular utility for immunosuppressed and vulnerable populations. With the constant emergence of new variants, understandi…

SARS-CoV-2 ferritin nanoparticle vaccines produce hyperimmune equine sera with broad sarbecovirus activity Open

Elizabeth J. Martinez, William C. Chang, Wei‐Hung Chen, Agnes Hajduczki, Paul V. Thomas , et al. · 2024

The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoC) and the threat of future zoonotic sarbecovirus spillover emphasizes the need for broadly protective next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. We utilized SARS-CoV-2 spike ferriti…

Mosaic vaccine-induced antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis associated with delayed HIV-1 viral load rebound post treatment interruption Open

Thembi Mdluli, Bonnie M. Slike, Daniel Curtis, Zhanna Shubin, Ursula Tran , et al. · 2024

Contemporary HIV-1 consensus Env with AI-assisted redesigned hypervariable loops promote antibody binding Open

Hongjun Bai, Éric Lewitus, Yifan Li, Paul V. Thomas, Michelle Zemil , et al. · 2024

Protective efficacy of a Zika purified inactivated virus vaccine candidate during pregnancy in marmosets Open

In-Jeong Kim, Olga González, Michael Tighe, Paula A. Lanthier, Madeline J. Clark , et al. · 2024

Zika purified inactivated virus (ZPIV) vaccine reduced vertical transmission in pregnant immunocompetent mice Open

In-Jeong Kim, Michael Tighe, Paula A. Lanthier, Madeline J. Clark, Rafael A. De La Barrera , et al. · 2024

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a significant threat to pregnant women and their fetuses as it can cause severe birth defects and congenital neurodevelopmental disorders, referred to as congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Thus, a safe and effective ZIKV …

Diverse array of neutralizing antibodies elicited upon Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle vaccination in rhesus macaques Open

Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Kerri G. Lal, Jaime L. Jensen, Vincent Dussupt, Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera , et al. · 2024

Antibody targeting of conserved sites of vulnerability on the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain Open

Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Vincent Dussupt, Wei‐Hung Chen, Hongjun Bai, Elizabeth J. Martinez , et al. · 2023

Contemporary HIV-1 consensus Env with redesigned hypervariable loops promote antibody binding Open

Hongjun Bai, Éric Lewitus, Yifan Li, Vincent Dussupt, Bonnie M. Slike , et al. · 2023

An effective HIV-1 vaccine must elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against the highly diverse Envelope glycoproteins (Env) present globally. Since Env with the longest hypervariable (HV) loops were more resistant to the cognate…

Priming with Japanese encephalitis virus or yellow fever virus vaccination led to the recognition of multiple flaviviruses without boosting antibody responses induced by an inactivated Zika virus vaccine Open

Yifan Li, Mélanie Merbah, Suzanne E. Wollen-Roberts, Bradley Beckman, Thembi Mdluli , et al. · 2023

This work was supported by a cooperative agreement between The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., and the U.S. Department of the Army [W81XWH-18-2-0040]. The work was also funded in part by the Nati…

Protective efficacy of a Zika purified inactivated virus vaccine candidate during pregnancy in marmosets Open

In-Jeong Kim, Olga González, Michael Tighe, Paula A. Lanthier, Madeline J. Clark , et al. · 2023

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy poses significant threats to maternal and fetal health, leading to intrauterine fetal demise and severe developmental malformations that constitute congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). As such, the d…

Zika purified inactivated virus (ZPIV) vaccine efficacy in pregnant human stat2 knock-in mice: neutralizing antibodies as correlates of protection Open

In-Jeong Kim, Michael Tighe, Paula A. Lanthier, Madeline J. Clark, Rafael De La Barrera , et al. · 2023

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a significant threat to pregnant women and fetuses as it can cause severe birth defects and congenital neurodevelopmental disorders, referred to as congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Thus, a safe and effective ZIKV vaccin…

Zika-specific neutralizing antibodies targeting inter-dimer envelope epitopes Open

Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Vincent Dussupt, Gina Donofrio, Gregory D. Gromowski, Rafael A. De La Barrera , et al. · 2023

Targeting the Spike Receptor Binding Domain Class V Cryptic Epitope by an Antibody with Pan-Sarbecovirus Activity Open

Jaime L. Jensen, Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Vincent Dussupt, Hongjun Bai, Agnes Hajduczki , et al. · 2023

Characterization of MAbs against SARS-CoV-2, elicited through vaccination or natural infection, has provided vital immunotherapeutic options for curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and has supplied critical insights into SARS-CoV-2 escape, trans…

Convalescent human IgG, but not IgM, from COVID-19 survivors confers dose-dependent protection against SARS-CoV-2 replication and disease in hamsters Open

Hannah A. D. King, Vincent Dussupt, Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera, Bonnie M. Slike, Ursula Tran , et al. · 2023

Introduction Antibody therapeutic strategies have served an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as their effectiveness has waned with the emergence of escape variants. Here we sought to determine the concentration of convales…

Bivalent intra-spike binding provides durability against emergent Omicron lineages: Results from a global consortium Open

Heather Callaway, Kathryn M. Hastie, Sharon L. Schendel, Haoyang Li, Xiaoying Yu , et al. · 2023

Unglycosylated Soluble SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) Produced in E. coli Combined with the Army Liposomal Formulation Containing QS21 (ALFQ) Elicits Neutralizing Antibodies against Mismatched Variants Open

Arasu Balasubramaniyam, Emma Ryan, Dallas R. Brown, Therwa Hamza, William T. A. Harrison , et al. · 2022

The emergence of novel potentially pandemic pathogens necessitates the rapid manufacture and deployment of effective, stable, and locally manufacturable vaccines on a global scale. In this study, the ability of the Escherichia coli express…

Fc receptor engagement of HIV-1 Env-specific antibodies in mothers and infants predicts reduced vertical transmission Open

Brittani M. Barrows, Shelly J. Krebs, Ningbo Jian, Michelle Zemil, Bonnie M. Slike , et al. · 2022

Introduction Infants acquire maternal antibodies by Fc receptor transcytosis across the placenta during pregnancy. Fc receptors are expressed on immune cells and are important for activation of effector cell functions. Methods In this stud…

SARS-CoV-2 ferritin nanoparticle vaccines elicit broad SARS coronavirus immunogenicity Open

Michael Joyce, Wei‐Hung Chen, Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Agnes Hajduczki, Paul V. Thomas , et al. · 2021

Low-dose in vivo protection and neutralization across SARS-CoV-2 variants by monoclonal antibody combinations Open

Vincent Dussupt, Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera, Samantha Townsley, Fabian Schmidt , et al. · 2021

RV144 vaccine imprinting constrained HIV-1 evolution following breakthrough infection Open

Éric Lewitus, Eric Sanders‐Buell, Meera Bose, Anne Marie O’Sullivan, Kultida Poltavee , et al. · 2021

The scale of the HIV-1 epidemic underscores the need for a vaccine. The multitude of circulating HIV-1 strains together with HIV-1’s high evolvability hints that HIV-1 could adapt to a future vaccine. Here, we wanted to investigate the eff…

B cell engagement with HIV-1 founder virus envelope predicts development of broadly neutralizing antibodies Open

Samantha Townsley, Gina Donofrio, Ningbo Jian, David J. Leggat, Vincent Dussupt , et al. · 2021

Correction: RV144 HIV-1 vaccination impacts post-infection antibody responses Open

Thembi Mdluli, Ningbo Jian, Bonnie M. Slike, Dominic Paquin‐Proulx, Gina Donofrio , et al. · 2021

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009101.].

SARS-CoV-2 Ferritin Nanoparticle Vaccines Elicit Broad SARS Coronavirus Immunogenicity Open

Michael Joyce, Wei‐Hung Chen, Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Agnes Hajduczki, Paul V. Thomas , et al. · 2021

A high-throughput multiplex assay to characterize flavivirus-specific immunoglobulins Open

Mélanie Merbah, Suzanne E. Wollen-Roberts, Zhanna Shubin, Yifan Li, Hongjun Bai , et al. · 2020

Genus Flavivirus, which includes 53 virus species, is the leading cause of arthropod-borne diseases in humans. Diagnosis of these viral diseases is complicated by their overlapping epidemiology and clinical manifestations, and the fact tha…

Potent Zika and dengue cross-neutralizing antibodies induced by Zika vaccination in a dengue-experienced donor Open

Vincent Dussupt, Rajeshwer S. Sankhala, Gregory D. Gromowski, Gina Donofrio, Rafael A. De La Barrera , et al. · 2020

The Slx5 paradox Open

Letzibeth Mendez-Rivera · 2015

Defects in DNA repair are associated with a variety of human diseases, but the pathways that regulate DNA repair are poorly understood. Protein modification by SUMO remains one of the most elusive mechanisms, even though it is known to be …

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